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SPECIAL NOTE FOR READERS OF _Jason and Kylie, Naked In School_:

You may or may not be aware, but Shalon broke his arm in two places three weeks ago; Jason and Kylie is temporarily on hold (he had a nice cushion built up on Pandora's Box, which is why he switched to that. Please see http://playground.pele.cx for details, including news on when Jason and Kylie will return.

If you have any questions, please email us, or visit our forums at http://playground.pele.cx/forums and ask.
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SPECIAL NOTE FOR READERS WHO DON'T LIKE M/M SCENES:

You want to either make it through the upcoming M/M scene (next chapter, IIRC) or skip to the end, because the scene after that involves Pandora, a bottle of lube, and a latex catsuit that fits perfectly.

Meow.

And a blindfold.

(And I promise, not all of our stories are MM; we've only got three, in fact, which are. It's just that somehow those three (Pandora's Box, Prudence, and Jason and Kylie (to a very small degree -- two scenes) ended up being some of the first ones we posted.

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Standard disclaimers apply; this story may or may not contain, in any
given part, graphic depictions of lesbianism, homosexuality, group sex,
bdsm, underage (teen) sex, magic, occultism, violence, and biting 
sarcasm.  If you're underage, or if for any other reason it's illegal 
for you to read this, or you're disturbed by the content, please don't 
read it.

Archived at http://pandora.pele.cx, and we've got a web-forum at
http://playground.pele.cx/forums as well, for discussion of both
Pandora and our other stories. 

Comments *greatly* appreciated.

Enjoy,

Velvet
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The club was in a rather industrial looking part of town, with a lot of
warehouses around and little tiny, windy roads. Parking was rather hard to
come by, especially for Gabriel's new giant truck.

They ended up parking about a quarter mile from the club, and walking the
rest of the way. Pandora pressed up close to him, looking around
nervously...likely this was the 'worst' neighborhood she'd ever visited.

The club itself didn't look like much from the outside. Big double doors,
with a bouncer on either side, taking ID's and stamping the hand of anyone
over 21 who wanted to drink.

As they stepped through the doors, the noise was overwhelming. The music...
provided tonight by a live band... had a heavy, throbbing bass line that
seemed to vibrate the floor, and the vocalist seemed to be fighting the
loud instrumentals, screaming to be heard at all. Despite the volume,
though, it was appealing in a wild, primal sort of way. The crowd added to
the noise; the bar was originally a warehouse, so it was large, but it was
still crowded. The dance floor, which took up about half the space, was
packed with writhing bodies, and almost every spindly black table was
occupied. The lighting was dim, with a lot of black-lights and red and
purple runners and flickering artificial torches.

Pandora froze in the doorway, her hand tightening around Gabriel's. He was
a bit frozen himself, though, because he had not expected to see the things
he did.

The auras of a couple hundred humans were confusing enough, all on their
own, and their bright colors twining on the dance floor would have been
hypnotically beautiful under other circumstances. But scattered throughout
the humans were auras that he was rapidly learning to spot as 'abnormal'.

Some of them, the ones like Tandi's which were just a bit stronger than
normal and that had a tight, 'controlled' look to them were probably human
magic users. He thought. Probably. But there were several auras that were
as bright or brighter than his and Pandora's, and some of those people
didn't look very human at all. In one corner was a pretty, dark-haired
woman who's aura was almost blindingly bright in shades of red, green, gold
and... black? _How the hell did something glow _black_?_ he wondered, but
her aura, undeniably, did. Her bright green eyes (and surely the humans
_had_ to notice those eyes, right?) weren't exactly friendly as she looked
at him, either, but she only glared for a moment before disappearing in the
back of the club. At a table, near the center of things, a group of people
with bright auras sat drinking and chatting, while their auras constantly
batted and hit at each other, sometimes taking on the vague misty form of a
snarling beast. They noticed him, too, but their eyes were neutral...
though a couple of them looked at Pandora with an uncomfortably hungry
look.  But by far the most disturbing creature was sitting at a table right
by the dance floor, surrounded by half a dozen pretty teenagers.

He was male, and possibly as tall as Gabriel, though it was hard to tell
while he was sitting. He was broad-shouldered and heavily muscled. The
leather pants, and the jacket he wore over a stretchy net shirt were almost
certainly custom made for him. He was also exceptionally good-looking,
almost beautiful, really, with long, gleaming bronze colored hair, light
grey eyes that shone in the black lights, and a nearly too-perfect face. As
his eyes met Gabriel's they seemed to flash red-gold for a moment, and his
aura, which was all the colors of open flame, seemed to flare up brightly
around him, outlining the shadow of long, curving horns sweeping up from
his forehead and bat-like wings spread wide behind him, and his skin seemed
for a moment to gleam like real gold, not just with the golden tan his
human form presented. He smiled widely, flashing gold fangs, and Gabriel's
new instincts flared suddenly, an intense surge of possessiveness making
him reach out and pull Pandora close to his side as he snarled in
unconscious challenge. 

Pandora looked up at him, confused by both his hard grip on her waist and
the sudden tension radiating from him. The flame-aura'd man reached out,
snagging a waitress' arm with a hand that Gabriel noticed was tipped with
long, metallic gold nails that seemed more like claws than anything else.
The woman bent, and he said something to her. She looked surprised, and
glanced over at Gabriel before nodding and hurrying towards the bar to tug
urgently at the bartender's arm.

Gabriel said, face tight, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. I
had no idea...."

She rubbed the hand he still had dug into her waist, her touch gentle and
reassuring. "What's wrong?" she asked, as the bartender suddenly jerked his
head up to stare at him, then look to the other man for his lazy nod, then
frown darkly.

"That... man. I'm not sure what he is, but he's not human, and he's not the
only one here who isn't. And... I'm not sure. But... I think he might be a
demon. I don't know. I... think we should go talk to the bartender."

"What man?" she asked, her eyes scanning the club, then freezing when they
met the admiring gaze of the potential demon. "Oh. My."

Something in her tone irritated him, provoked a spark of anger deep inside,
and he instinctively wrapped his aura around her, completely enclosing her.
She tensed, feeling the contact, and looked up at him uncertainly.
"Gabriel?"

Gabriel said, shortly, "Maybe we should leave. I don't want to lose you."

"_What_? Gabriel, you won't lose me!" She reached up to touch his face,
turn him to look at her. "This is a public place, a bar. We have as much
right to be here as anyone. No one's going to kidnap me or anything."

"Oh? And how did you feel when you looked at him?" Gabriel asked. "I
don't... maybe it's insecure, but..."

She stared at him, aghast. "Is that what... You thought I... Gabriel, I
thought he was freaking _huge_, that's all! I've never seen anyone that big
in my life. If he came near me when I was alone, I'd probably run like
hell."

Gabriel looked down at her, uncertainty in his eyes. "That's it?"

She reached up, cupping his face in gentle, caressing hands. "I _love_ you.
You're so beautiful it takes my breath away just to look at you... how
could anyone else compete with that? You're my every dream made flesh."

Gabriel swallowed. "Okay. I just... for a second there, I was jealous."

She glanced over at the table and sighed, then took a step back. "You
really don't get it, do you. You've got nothing to worry about. I'll prove
it. Go over there," she said, clenching her jaw. "Over around the bar,
where people probably couldn't see over here when we came in, and wait a
few minutes."

Gabriel shook his head. "I don't need to, love. I trust you. I just..." He
sighed. "I thought maybe he had what I do, only stronger, and maybe... you
wouldn't have a _choice_."

"Why stronger?" she asked. "If he does at all, it's not that strong. I have
_no_ desire to strip _him_ naked, push him down in the floor, and have my
way with him in front of everybody here."

Gabriel licked his lips. "That would probably be a bad idea. No matter how
appealing it is..."

Pandora smiled up at him, her fingers trailing down to gently run along the
sides of his neck. "I know. But that doesn't stop me from _wanting_ it.
Wanting you. Constantly. Even when I'm so sore I can barely walk. I don't
think anybody's ever wanted anyone as much as I want you. And... " She
sighed, the smile leaving her eyes. "And if you _did_ go over there alone,
looking available, you'd have twice as many girls... and guys... hanging on
you as he does in about five minutes. Even _without_ your aura thing.
Gabriel, you're _gorgeous_. Yeah, he's good-looking, I guess. But he's too
big, and his eyes are cold, and his hair is nowhere _near_ as good as your
beautiful curls, and his hands creep me out."

Gabriel smiled, hesitantly. "But I don't _want_ a bunch of girls hanging on
me. Just you."

She cocked her head. "But you've already _got_ that, so why were you
jealous?"

"Because I was afraid I was about to lose it," he said.

"_Never_," she said. "Never. I'm yours." She hesitated, then asked slowly,
"Is... he who we should talk to, since you think he's like you? Or... you
said there were others? He really _is_ creepy. Those girls look too young
for him."

"I... I don't know. I think we should go talk to the bartender, first." He
gave her a crooked grin. "And, love, strictly speaking I don't think you
can say that."

She frowned tightly. "Yes, I can. You know I'm not like most girls my age.
And besides, he looks older than you."

"Well, if he _is_ a demon, he's probably even older than he looks. And
you're right." He squeezes her gently. "Let's go talk to the bartender."

She wrapped her arm around his, leaning against him and rubbing her cheek
against his upper arm. "Okay."

The bartender watched their approach warily. When they got within ten feet,
he carefully reached under the bar, pulling out a tire-iron, giving it a
little polish with his cloth, and tucked it back under, in easy reach, his
eyes never leaving Gabriel.

Pandora frowned, stopping. "Maybe you're right. It might not be safe here
for you."

Gabriel sighed. "Maybe not. Let's find out." He walked the rest of the way
to the bar. "Do you want to tell me what your problem is with me?"

The man was human, but with a tight, bright aura that looked like a
futuristic forcefield. "No problem yet. Just making sure you know we're
ready, should there be a problem. You're new here, so you don't know the
rules. This is a neutral zone. A safe place. You don't bring any fights in
here, you don't start any new ones. You don't force anyone to do anything
here, no one tries anything with you, either. Nobody here is food. This is
a Sanctuary. That means if that little girl with you wants to stay, she
can, and you can't make her leave. Every supe here'll enforce that." He
looked at Pandora with kind eyes. "You understand that, sugar? You able to
think right now? You don't wanna go with him, you don't have to."

Pandora's eyes narrowed, and she frowned coldly. "I don't know what you're
thinking, but you're wrong."

Gabriel looked at him for a moment, then laughed. "No, I understand, love.
I should have expected it after how Tandi reacted." He shook his head.
"Look. Two days ago I thought I was human. I'm not forcing her, not in any
way. You can ask her. If you really need me to, I'll go back outside while
you do -- as long as you take _personal_ responsibility for her safety. I
won't let her get hurt."

The bartender's attitude changed immediately. "You're an orphan, then?
That's different. Probably not even full-blood, most of you aren't, but if
you were abandoned, then you're sure as hell not High Court anything, and
those are the real trouble makers, that's for sure. We've got a couple of
other orphans that come in regular...act just like people, really, not like
the others a'tall."

Gabriel blinked. "How did you know I was an orphan just from that?"

"You thought you were human. And you were honestly affectionate to her, not
just condescending play-acting. And I have a really nifty truth-spell a
friend cast on this bar to let me know you weren't lying." He grinned.
"Happy belated birthday."

Gabriel smiled wryly. "Well, I really should have expected it. Her sister
attacked me when she realized what I was." He shook his head. "She had to
_tell_ me what I was, because neither of us knew." He hesitated.
"Actually...maybe you can help me, then. That's why I'm here."

"What are you wanting? Information? Protection?"

"Information. I need to learn how to hide a scar on Pandora's back." He
sighed. "The claws were...a surprise. Somehow the cuts healed, but... if
her mother sees them, it'll be bad." He looked down at Pandora
apologetically. "She's nuts. Pandora's not even allowed to risk getting a
sunburn, because then she might not be able to model."

The bartender frowned. "I... ah, I'm sorry, but there's no polite way to
ask. What's your species, honey?" he asked Pandora. "I thought you were a
shifter, but even a young shifter would heal Unseelie claw-marks."

Pandora looked uncomfortable and took a step back, slipping partway behind
Gabriel. "I...I'm human," she said quietly.

He looked skeptical, but didn't argue, just sighed and shook his head. "I'm
afraid I can't help you, sorry."

"Why not?" Gabriel asked.

He shrugged. "Because whatever she is, she's too strong for human magic to
work on."

Gabriel looked thoughtful for a moment. "You don't think she's human?"

The man shook his head again, looking at Gabriel impatiently. "You know
better than that. You can _see_ that. Look, you want help with her, talk to
one of the big guys." He pointed towards the table of adoring teenagers.
"You need stronger stuff than a human can give you. His kind deal in
information, maybe you can arrange something."

Gabriel sighed. "I can see _something_, but since I don't know what's
normal... like I said, two days ago I thought I was human." He shook his
head. "And... what exactly _is_ he? What I see isn't exactly reassuring."

The bartender snorted. "Like you've got reason to talk, Unseelie. Trust me,
folks around here are a _lot_ more comfortable with his kind than yours,
any day. Even back in the bad ol' days. At least when they were evil they
were _honest_ about it."

"Say _what_?" Gabriel stares at the bartender. "Wait a minute. You're
telling me that people like _demons_ better? What the hell have... uh, my
people, I guess, _done_?"

He was met with a grim smile. "Everything. Every nasty thing humans do to
each other is just a pale imitation. One of them...raised by them, in their
society...thinks nothing of keeping as many humans as they want for slaves,
or pets, or spell ingredients. The 'good' ones think of us as...kind of
like we think of dolphins...nearly intelligent, should be protected, but if
you have to kill a few to save them all, no problem. They're not _people_
after all. The bad ones...well. They're worse. They _like_ to play with
people, they enjoy watching pain. They're fucking psychopaths, is what they
are. Fucking monsters. If you have any sense at all, you'll stay away from
them and pretend you're not related."

Gabriel stared at the bartender, looking for any sign he wasn't serious.
"You -- you _mean_ that?"

Oblivious to Gabriel's horror, the man laughed nastily. "Hell yes. Filthy
bastards. They invented slavery. They perfected torture. Half the crack-pot
religions out there were started by them, so that they could have
make-believe wars with their human game-pieces. They still try to run
things, behind the scenes, hidden... but thank the gods there's not as many
of them as there used to be." He reached under the counter and caressed the
iron rod, and Pandora pressed against Gabriel, wrapping her arm around his
waist and taking his hand in her other one. "We know how to deal with them
now," the man went on. "Guns give them real hell... Their magic can't
protect them from the kind of stuff we can do today, not as much as it used
to. Maybe one day, we'll wipe them out."

Gabriel swallowed. "Damn. I think I'm glad I was an orphan, then."

Pandora squeezed his arm and glared at the man. "That's... that's as evil
as you're accusing them of being. You _know_ it's not all of them. You
_know_ it makes a difference how they were raised. Being against a culture
isn't an excuse for genocide."

He shrugged, not looking particularly concerned. "It's most of 'em, honey.
But you're young, and you don't really _know_ about them yet, and... well,
I honestly hope the gods keep you from ever finding out first hand. But you
might as well get used to hearing how people feel. They have reasons for
feeling that way. Reasons that someone all safe and snug has no right to
question."

Gabriel touched Pandora's arm. "He's got a point, love. If it's almost all
of them, then..." He sighed. "Then it's not really bigotry, is it? It's
justifiable."

"And how does he know it's nearly all of them?" she demanded. "_You're_ not
that way. He mentioned another one who comes here who isn't. That's two.
How many of the other kind has he, personally met? And even if it's lots...
those would be the ones with power, wouldn't it? The ones who could come
out and hunt humans safely? The weaker ones couldn't. And maybe they're
as... as abused by the powerful ones as humans used to be. Maybe it's even
_worse_ for them, now, because they can't get away with treating humans so
bad and a bully has to bully _someone_. Maybe that's _why_ they dump their
children where humans will find them... maybe they think of it as giving
them a chance!"

Gabriel met the bartender's eyes. "That's possible," he said.

"I... guess it could be," the bartender admitted slowly. "That would fit
the personality of the strong ones, well enough. But... I've never seen any
evidence of it. Nor has anyone, not that ever came back. Humans who go
Underhill, they don't come back, most usually. And when they do, they don't
come back _sane_.  So really, we can't say what goes on there. We have to
judge by what happens _here_, and, well, that's plenty." He shook his head.
"It's a war, really. One that can't be stopped. We either keep fighting,
try to wipe them out, or they grow strong again and wipe us out. We haven't
got any choice in it."

"But the weak ones _wouldn't_ come through, not often. The war... I won't
argue it's necessity. But it should be a war on the culture, not on my
race." Gabriel stopped suddenly. "Wait. _What_ did you say about the
demon?"

"I didn't say he was a demon. He might be. Might not. Depends on your point
of view, really. And I said he might could help you. He's one who
specializes in information."

"You said something along the lines of 'even when they were evil'," Gabriel
said. "If he's a demon... well, doesn't that kind of make him automatically
evil?"

He shook his head. "There's a lot of things called "demons" that aren't
evil. And there's some demons that used to be evil that are changin' sides
these days." He shrugged. "Don't really understand it myself, but Lucian
was vouched for by some...one I know I can trust. You wanna know more, you
ask him. He's on some kinda recruitment drive, so he'd probably be happy to
tell you all about that for free."

Gabriel looked skeptical. "O...kay. And, uh, what's he going to charge me
for the other information?"

The bartender snorted. "Not your soul. Even if that was an option, it
wouldn't be allowed _here_. This is a Sanctuary. No one loses their blood,
their flesh, their mind, or their soul, and if they lose their virginity it
damned well better be voluntary."

"Good," Gabriel said, obvious relief on his face.

Pandora frowned. "Isn't there anyone else?"

The man shrugged. "There might be. But he'd be the most likely to be able
to help, and to be willing to. Sorry, hon, but your boyfriend is gonna
close some doors that you might have otherwise found open."

"Then I'm glad I came with him," she snapped, "So that I wasn't fooled into
thinking people blinded by prejudice were friends. At least this way I can
_tell_ who's worth listening to."

Gabriel looked down at Pandora. "Love... easy. They don't know me. And if
almost everyone they meet who looks like me is a threat, they have _reason_
to react that way. It wouldn't be safe not to."

"_If_ that were true, maybe. But if they're all basing it on stories, and
haven't ever even met any of these 'bad guys', then they're being
prejudiced." She looked up at him. "I know what it's like to be judged
_only_ by how you look, Gabriel! And I know how _stupid_ it is for people
to do it, too."

Gabriel looked at the bartender. "_Is_ this based on personal experience?"

The man actually flushed a bit. "I'm alive, aren't I?" he said. "That's a
good indicator it's not. But I do hear everything that happens, and I've
been around long enough to sort the truth from the crap. And I have sources
that aren't ordinary, too." He shook his head. "The stories are true. Way
too true. Even the ones that you hear and you hope with every bone in your
body are just an exaggeration, if you look into them, you find out they
happened."

Gabriel shook his head. "Then why hasn't anyone taken the fight to _them_?"

"We _can't_. We can't get to their world, not unless they take us, or let
us in." He smiled grimly. "And I really don't see them letting us in with
our weapons. Some folks say that you _can't_ take iron into Faerie,
anyway... that it just won't go. Others say you can, but only with the
right spells, and those spells take things that no ethical witch is going
to do. We gotta wait on them to come out, that's all there is to it. Even
if we could get in...we'd be fighting on their turf, in their world, and
their world works by their rules, and those rules aren't the same as here.
Things are different. Magic is different. Time. Distance. Everything."

Gabriel nodded slowly. "And if you don't know them, you'd get slaughtered.
Damn." He sighed. "Okay. Look. Can I trust... Lucian, I think you called
him?"

"I trust him. Based on the references I got for him...I'd trust him with my
baby daughter's life, swear to the gods. He might play games, but he won't
lie, not outright, and he won't do any harm to someone who's not his enemy.
He won't harm an innocent. Now...someone who's not so innocent, who's
trying to work him, I wouldn't give that person much of a chance at all.
But you play straight, and so will he. And he knows all about being judged
by what people think you are."

Gabriel laughed. "I can believe that. Okay. Thanks." He sighed. "Hell with
it. You got any good scotch? And maybe something Pandora would like?"

He looked Pandora up and down and shook his head. "She can have a soda like
the other kids. It's a good look. She pulls it off pretty well. But she
ain't 21. 18, maybe, but not 21. You can have your Scotch, no problem, I
_know_ how old you are," he said, reaching for a bottle.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute. You said yourself that she's not
human. What does it _matter_?"

He laughed. "She _thinks_ she's human. So she ain't more'n a year or two
older than she looks. And she don't act 21. Too innocent. Too protective of
you. Too much 'in love'."

Pandora's eyes narrowed, and her back stiffened.

"So?" He sighed. "Hell, man. You run a bar like this, you _can't_ be
worried about the cops. And I can't believe you buy that bullshit, either."

"We stay legal," he said firmly. "Human laws as well as the others. And she
may be with you now, but she's got parents somewhere, and at least one of
them isn't human, so I wouldn't even know _what_ I was possibly pissing
off. Nope, ain't doin' it. Besides, if she don't know what she is, she
don't likely know how she'd react. Some things don't respond so good to
alcohol."

Pandora snapped, "I told you, I'm _human_. Both of my parents are human. My
sister is human. My whole stupid family is so human they can't stand
themselves."

"Sure, honey. You wanna cream soda? I do a great cream soda."

Gabriel squeezes Pandora's hand. "Love, it would explain the dancing
thing."

She pulled away from him, avoiding his eyes. "Cream soda is fine."

"Love... I don't care whether or not you're human."

"I care," she said tightly, barely loud enough for him to hear.

"I don't understand. You don't care that I'm not," he said.

She looked up at him. "Gabriel... you're something beautiful, strong,
wonderful. You're...you're _more_ that human. But... if you're right,
then... then so was my father, and it's my fault that they hurt me.
Especially... especially if he said that because he _knew_ what I am. It'd
give him reason, too, for not giving a damn about me, if he always knew
what I was born to be."

Gabriel shook his head, sharply. "No. It's _not_ your fault that they hurt
you. And if he knew and didn't tell you, didn't even give you the chance to
learn to control it--" His jaw clenched, and he took a deep breath. "I'm
saying it might not have been their fault, _not_ that it was your fault.
There's a big difference. It _wasn't_ your fault. What happened with Angel
today, that was my fault, because I _knew_, and I didn't manage to control
it. _You_ didn't know, and you _can't_ control it, so it _wasn't_ your
fault."

The bartender slid the glasses in front of them, hers tall and frothy
white, his small and full of dark amber liquid. "Aw sugar," he said
sympathetically, "it isn't that bad. Lots more folk  than you'd ever think
have a bit of supe blood in them. It don't always show. But humans with the
talent for magic...now, that does show, and sometimes in weird ways you
can't control. If you've been having trouble, that's more likely than it
being caused by whatever your ancestry is. Heck, lotsa people never even
realize they're not human."

Gabriel hesitated, looking at Pandora. "Do you mind if I explain?"

She looked stricken, hurt, betrayed. "Please don't..."

"I won't, love. Not if it bothers you. But you have nothing to be ashamed
of."

She hunched her shoulders up, the tight latex making her look almost naked
and very vulnerable. "Just... please don't. I don't want to talk about it.
I'll be okay."

"Of course not, love. Not if it bothers you," Gabriel said. "Come on. Let's
go talk to Lucian."

She wrinkled her nose distastefully and sighed as he asked the bartender
what he owed. "Four bucks for yours, hers is on the house. Decorative women
get free soft drinks on weekends."

Gabriel nodded and paid. "She's definitely decorative. I'm lucky to have
her."

"Very," the man said, voice incredibly serious, and took the money to the
register as Gabriel took his drink in one hand, his fiance' in the other,
and left the bar.

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If you like this, you might want to take a look at Strange Love, an
e-zine of sf/fantasy/paranormal erotica. The first issue is on sale
now for $2 at:

http://strangelove.pele.cx

Take a look!

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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